More Allotment Patio

You join me outside with Andrew who is planting up another vegetable crate to add to the lovely jumble of allotment pots we have on the patio. Everything is going terribly well and there aren't even any pests on the plants (bar one slug), unlike at the main allotment plot where everything is being tackled by everything! It can't just be me - there are a lot more insects (hover flies in particular) and sweetly singing birds around this year - no??

So we are making an allotment box out of an orange plastic crate; we got this one discarded outside a farmers' market. Andrew carefully opened up a grow bag with scissors running along one end and poured all the contains out into a trug. Then he trimmed the other end and cut up the seam along the back length of the plastic. Laying this rectangle out, he lined the crate before emptying all the compost back in, spreading it evenly. This one is being planted up with coriander plugs, spring onion plugs (multi sown) and carrot seeds (rotundo - little round ones), see above.

Toby is over by the tulips and the water feature (which he frequently drinks from) laying in the sun and every now and then stretching and getting more comfortable; he's being a good boy.

Elsewhere in the patio allotment the mangetout peas are starting to romp away up the trellis support, the turnips have gone a bit bonkers with a growth spurt and the radishes are so juicy and plump we are eating them everyday with baby perpetual spinach too.

The potatoes are just starting to show their tips which I find very exciting and the broad beans are slowly (strongly) climbing up by their bamboo sticks and the flowers teasingly get bigger every day.

In the greenhouse my flower seeds are looking lovely but still a little too wee to plant up yet in the empty pots I have beside me. We also have baby celery, purple sprouting broccoli, Brussel sprouts, kale and lettuce seedlings in there, all looking well.

In the cold frame here, we have leeks (multi sown) and a wide variety of chard and beetroot varieties.

I hope you are having a good weekend my lovelies. Stay well and happy growing!
Hugs
Carrie xx 

The allotment patio

Hello, gorgeous people! *waves* and welcome to this special outdoors blog post live from my patio :) I sit here with a coffee in the sunshine with Toby and Andrew (who is working from home).

I hope you are well and keeping safe and sane in this weird quarantine period. It's actually not that bad really, is it? We have to stay at home with our TVs and books and blankets to do battle with this horrid virus. It could be a lot worse I guess. (OK I know it's Hell for some and I'm sorry xx)

So the mini allotment here is growing really well and I so happy to see the seedlings everyday slowly getting bigger and stronger in the mini greenhouse. The ones that are planted out are looking great and personally I would like to have these vegetable pots and flower pots every year - it looks so lush and green out here!

Beside me we have growing cabbages, coriander, radishes, turnips, spinach, beetroots, potatoes, leeks, spring onions, carrots, broad beans and peas! We came up with a fab idea for the potatoes in fact (I'm sure others have thought of this before but it excites us) - putting them in pots as usual and growing multi plugs of spring onions on top = a champ pot ;)

The first crop of radishes will be ready in a about a week - they are so rewarding to grow, I'd forgotten all about them over the past years but you get a crop in no time at all and they are so pretty. We have a heck of a lot so it's just as well we like their feisty peppery taste.

I have also just noticed that the broad beans have tiny flowers appearing and the mangetout peas are starting to cling unto the trellis behind them - you notice every little detail everyday instead of every week and it's utterly charming. I recommend this to everyone if you have even the smallest outdoor space - pots, grow your veg in pots and you can even add colour with marigolds!

I'm also noticing more of the joyous springtime changes that happen in the garden too. Since the start of the week the beech hedge has become greener every day, dropping its brown leaves and letting the new green leaves unfurl - its beautiful. The acers and the maple leaves are opening like paper fans and god grief there are so many hover flies and bees - I never noticed before - oh and the bird song!

Tulip pots -

 We've already had a beautiful flush of daffodils and after these blooms there are alliums to come.

Things continue at the allotment plot too but I'll save that for another post.

What's happening with you these days?

Virtual hugs 

Carrie

September's plot visit

I come today to my blog with a confession - I only visited the allotment plot once this past month! *you all point and say "shame" at me* But at least I went, right? And it got me feeling bad and wanting to work harder over the winter to have a better growing year this time round :)

We are going to plant more trees on the plot and more flowers in the hedgerow for the fabulous bees. It's rather exciting. First we need to clear and cover the beds and gather seaweed and other organic soil improvers and plan, plan, plan! Oh and how I would love a new shed, but alas we can't have everything.

Anyway that visit saw us clear one bed and gather a pretty surprising harvest. Please enjoy the story through the magic of my photos.....

The plot from the far end looking back at Andrew 

and Toby

A BEFORE of bed 1 😟

AN AFTER of bed 1 😀

Toby doing a stop check on the apples we harvested

Most of the harvest before the heavy rain came 

Yep, we got thoroughly poured on just as we have finished the first bed clearance and gathered up what we could as a harvest from across the plot. I have some nicer photos of our wee harvest though....

The loveliest squashes, only a few apples but they were wonderful with our bounty of damsons in a couple of crumbles :) And we ate a good lot of the potatoes and scallions with the climbing beans for dinner!

I mean I know it's not great and you aren't sitting there gobsmacked, but I should remind you that in comparison to the work put in this was a lot of good tasty food.

We were away all weekend camping and walking and I look forward to sharing that soon. I hope you are all happy and have your bulbs picked, if not planted already - our garlic arrived today, hooray!

Love and hugs from (a sleepy)

Carrie

Can we do the weekend over again??

To begin with, the GOOD NEWS.... 

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Bless us all but the past few days have been sensationally uninteresting in the main part, I shall tell one part of it here but boy am I glad that brighter and cheerier (fingers crossed) days are ahead....

Toby sniffing my new Millican 'Smith, the roll pack'  adventure photo day rack sack - so beautiful

Saturday saw us get all hopped up and ready to go on an adventure into Co. Down with our cameras and Toby too of course. But lo, the weatherman had got it wrong again and instead of the promised, yes promised, blue skies and cold brisk air we had dampness - rain, drizzle, mizzle, hailstones! at one point, a cold that cut you to the bone and a sky that never cheered up all day long.

We also made the heinous mistake of going to Ardglass - a place that once boomed with fishing industry and beautiful boats and now, especially in this weather was dull and gloomy with a low tide and nothing worth looking at. I took a photo of an open door for crying out loud! Plus sometime after this, my camera lens malfunctioned, not that I was to know about it yet....

This, this is the last thing I took a photo of and why? why I ask you? It's not even a good photo!

Onto Strangford which I do love but again the weather and the already gathering darkness had turned into a place of equal sadness and despair in my eyes. But here there was a lovely cafe/bistro with warm cosy feels. After ordering a mocha - for medicinal reasons. I went to take a photo of the loveliness and our drinks and lo - the malfunctioning lens showed itself.

Zoom past the next 45mins and my sudden and complete descent into Hades itself and you find me in a high rise car park, in the dark, waiting for Andrew who had taken my camera into the specialists in Belfast. The lens has to be sent away - I disintegrate. Depression does a really good job of making annoying problems turn into massive natural disasters; my life isn't worth living without my camera and the lens will take up to 6 weeks to be assessed and reported on.

Andrew decided I needed a lens and there was one that I would have eventually saved up for right there at half price. There were many people running in and out of the shop whilst he was there buying them and he picked up the last one and rang me. "YES I NEED THAT!" I cry down the phone, waking Toby who was oblivious to all of this drama.

**********

And thus, here I am with a new lens on my camera and my 'old' lens (still under warranty) being sent off goodness know where.

Truly, a bump like that to a person in my mental condition can be so dangerous and still at the heart of it, ridiculous. That's what these illnesses do a person and Sunday was a write off as I slept all day due to Saturday's panic and the much need sedatives to stop me from doing harm to myself.

Andrew and Toby collected some delicious kale and chard from the allotment on Sunday and made a wonderful dinner. Photos taken with new 50mm prime lens....

Here's hoping your weekend was nothing like mine at all! May it have been all happy and lightness xx
Love and hugs
Carrie

P.S. Let's just circle back to the news I gave at the start, especially as I have had the daylight simulation bulb on since I got up today - the winter solstice is coming, hip hip hooray! 😃

90 mins at the allotment

Triumphantly I returned to the allotment last Saturday and it was wonderful. We are now getting into lock down mode with only kale, beetroot and leeks growing at the moment and everything else getting ripped out and composted or pruned back.

It was a mild afternoon and I was no longer there than the coat had to come off and the work began in earnest. Well, I did have to take my 'before' photo, before I got started. How does Toby always manage to get his bum in my photos? haha.

We took down the bean poles and the netting for the sugar snap peas and then I happily started in on the constructive deconstruction (and you know how I love that) pulling out all the climbing borlotti, sugar snap peas and broad bean plants and putting them on the compost heap. Then gathering all the weeds and chucking them in a heap elsewhere (a lot still in flower and I DO NOT want even more weed seeds in my freshly cleared bed). We had a wheelbarrow with some compost in it from, well, some other time we were there and it was added into the bed once I had everything cleared and what weeds I could get to were removed. Looks good no?

Andrew pruned the apple trees (yep, I know we are a little behind, but better late than never). He also ripped out the old and exploded, hahaha, courgettes and started turning over the soil in a different bed. We will be adding a horse manure mulch to it next and the old bean bed too.

Although most things were looking rough and tired I did of course find some beauty in the mess including some of the borlotti beans we recovered in very good dried out state - perfect for soups and stews or maybe even planting next year :) Did you know they are also known as the cranberry bean?

I look forward to returning and will keep you posted.
Hugs
Carrie

The clocks went back!

Try as we might there is no denying that the clocks officially went back this weekend and thus we descend into the darker nights and mornings and the colder temperatures. BUT it's OK, I have some tips to help you cope.

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GET YOUR VITAMINS IN YOU

* Look after yourself my friend by eating healthily and boosting your immune system :) That means more fruit and veggies rich in vitamin C; maintaining a good zinc balance (found in spinach and legumes); eating iron rich foods such as red meat, lentils and leafy green vegetables.

 * More dairy products, eggs and fish will up the protein, Vitamin B12 and calcium in your system. Plus they are supposed to reduce tiredness :)

* And extra good news is that our winter vegetables (which maybe we have stored or still have in the ground) are starchy and fibrous (like cereals  - oats are a super food!) will make for incredible soups and roasts. Add lots of garlic and ginger and you will keep illness at bay. 

STAY ACTIVE 

* Regular exercise inside the house with simple housework on top of exercise videos is fabulous - keep it up.

* but GET OUTSIDE and get your Vitamin D! Wear cosy clothes now, don't let fashion dictate - you need a coat that covers your kidneys, a bobble hat and scarf and please wear socks!

DAYLIGHT SIMULATION BULB

* Turn the dark days into bright sunshine-y ones at the flick of a switch. I love these so much, I use one in the living room everyday when it's slightly dark out there. They're cheaper than light boxes (which the NHS recommends, I must say - even half an hour with one is proven to lighten your mood) and they fit into everyday light fittings so you keep your lamps and shades the same.

SOCIALISE

* It's so super important and you won't end up a hermit. Socialising in any form is important but, truly, human face to face contact is best for your health.

SLEEP

* Keep to your routine, or develop one. Sleep is essential if you are going to battle any illness or even fight the urge to hide under a blanket and hibernate for a few months. Go to bed at the same time and get up at the same time during the week and you will feel better (look up 'good sleep hygiene' for more tips)

HYGGE

* OH bless us all and hip hip hooray for Hygge! if you don't know all there is to know about this you need to go research because it's the best thing I have ever done bar get a daylight simulation bulb.

This is all about the comfort in the evenings and weekends - blankets, fairy lights, candles, books, lounging around by the fire and feeling super relaxed and cosy - GO, get those candles and get started :)

* Look up 'Päntsdrunk' too it also comes from Finland and is the act of staying in due to the extreme cold, sitting by the fire and drinking with only your pants on, ahahaha.

love and hugs

Carrie x

Allotment harvest!

"On Saturday we visited the allotment for the afternooon".
"What? Finally!" I hear you say and I simply blush in return.

Evidence - exhibit 1 😊

What a neglected little plot we've have this year, but you know what, it was thriving away without us! Okay, a good deal of our produce has been taken by the birds this year (especially those super pesky pheasants) and the heat destroyed our blueberries but we have managed to get away with a lot, much more than we expected and certainly more than we deserve!

We were there to see what we could harvest and what (inevitably) needed to be lifted and composted.  Andrew brought the petrol strimmer with him and got the paths all cut back around the place and I just brought my camera and a 'can do attitude'. On a lucky note we also got the very last tray of purple sprouting broccoli plug plans from the garden centre to bring down with us.

This was the plot when we arrived

I'll just give you a moment here to be shocked and dismayed at the weed situation... *blush*

There followed a heck of a lot of weeding, sweating, drinking water, walking into things and getting exceptionally dirty fingernails (my gloves are falling apart). It all ended with exhaustion and the strong desire, no it was a NEED for an allotment curry. Nothing else would do to placate our overwhelming plot pride!

Just look at those lovely sweetcorn stalks and all the cobs this year; look at the marigolds that Flighty sent me (I only grew a few but I love them and there are a few sunflowers in there too) and the squashes, all that simply were not in existence the last time I was there.. yippee! Look too at our baby leeks (now that you can see them without all those weeds!)

I am happy to announce that we also have courgettes coming faster than we know what to do with them and a great many runner beans, scallions, beetroot and broad beans coming. The chard has mainly bolted but there are still two plants that are fine and the string beans give a good crop on Saturday but I'm not sure about them.... Lastly, I took all the apples I could and emptied the last bucket of potatoes

Oh just look at the produce...

Plus we get to take Toby home :)

Hugs and love
Carrie xx

A good allotment visit

It may well be obvious, to the eagle eyed, that I took my photographs and conducted my review of the Moleskine Garden Journal at the allotment last weekend. Well, there is more to that story - I actually had a good time whilst I was there - that is something that needs to be celebrated so in case you haven't champagne at hand, join me in a warm beverage and let's toast to 24a and ecotherapy.

I weeded the paths around the shed and the main one down the middle of the plot. TWO large plastic trugs worth. It's not like I haven't been doing this regularly but they blooming well grow back as soon as my back is turned. Finally, I also put the broken and rotten twigs from a couple of years ago into the field edging - the insects will love them AND I won't be tripping on them all the time anymore.

Good news -

* Andrew harvested the garlic

* Andrew planted out the leeks (and my sunflowers, not shown here)

* I harvested two buckets of potatoes and boy it truly was like treasure hunting. The used compost went under the apple trees as a mulch, the ground there is baked hard and even cracked as wide as my fist in places.

* The courgettes and squashes are looking good and the sweetcorn flowers have formed

Bad news -

* Bloody Pheasants have been having the time of their lives in our plot! Oh the poor broad beans are in a terrible state, as are the mangetout and the apples. We need to employ someone to live in the shed and scare them away every day - cheeky, rude birds - grrr

* The continued lack of rain and the strong burning sun has wizened the blueberries and turned many of the leaves brown :(

* The sun was too strong to bare and we had to leave earlier than I would have liked....BUT I felt good. Payback would happen later but let's not go there.

Hugs and love to you
Carrie
xxx

A quick trip to the allotment and 1st harvest!

Even though the heat was unbearable and we were sweating our butts off, we spent a good 40 mins at the allotment on Sunday. We were the ONLY people there, that should have told us something, plus in the end Toby was far too warm as well- so homeward bound we were...

 The plot was a dried out weedy mess but we love it and though we'd give it our best go....

 Lots of courgette flowers appearing now - hurrah and though now photographed here, our sweetcorn is looking strong and healthy.

These were just a few early garlic cloves we lifted, they were small but later we found them to be so delicious

 Our first planter pot of potatoes was harvested and we were really, pleaseantly surprised. With all this crazy heatwave action and no rain, we thought they would be tiny and disappointing but no, they were small and utterly tasty. Most went to Mamma G, as you are reading this I am hiking again in  Fermanagh ;)

Oh my! We have wasps nesting in my remaining bird box. They didn't bother us at all and are of course goo for the plants but it was disturbing to hear later that other people had taken theirs and burnt them to death - why?

I think we all need to rethink our relationship with the wasp - education is key.

A wheelbarrow full of weeds later, with the front half of the right hand bed really for leeks to be planted later in the week. Really, considering Toby getting sickly and we needing a cold shower as soon as we got home - we did good!

A harvest trug :)

Garlic, broad beans, potatoes and rainbow chard - yumm!

Hugs galore!

Carrie